Ed Halter–author, fellow Village Voice-ian, and ex-Bonnie professor (no, that is not very good English)–was kind enough to send me this link, which is not safe for work, unless your work is cool with sexy, game-related gay porn, in which case, sign me up for that job. I’m not sure why these men are mostly naked on arcade machines, or why they look quite so sad about it, but I do know I like both video games and pretty boys. Finally, I have more than Cloud to fulfill my very specific needs…

If it hasn’t already aired by the time you read this, remember to check out today’s Morning Show with Mike and Juliette to see me talk about cyber rape (or just make a fool of myself) on national television. Once I find a YouTube link, I’ll be sure to post it for all those Heroine Sheik readers–like myself–who think mornings are times for sleeping. Wish me luck!

Update: Here’s a link to the segment straight from The Morning Show’s site. Personally, I haven’t had the heart to watch myself yet, but the rest of the world is free to point and giggle. Thanks, Scott!

Remember my middle-aged hubby in Second Life from a while ago? “Naked in a lawn chair, lol”? Yeah, that guy. Well, he’s back, and he’s the topic of this week’s “Click Me,” subtitled “Sometimes It’s Better Not To Know.” Here at Heroine Sheik, we’ve been talking about the One Laptop Per Child game jam, area/code’s Plundr, and all of the pokemans (let me show them to you). The biggest issue up this week though is Linden Labs’ official statement on violence, age play–heck, just about everything–in Second Life.

Speaking of Second Life, I found out yesterday I’m going to be part of a panel on virtual rape Monday morning on The Morning Show with Mike and Juliette. Ooh, television. Sounds both fun and terrifying. Apparently, I’ll be up against a lawyer and a representative from Electric Sheep. If you’re up and about (or if it’s on YouTube) you should totally check it out!

In other news, Scott and I exchanged graduation presents yesterday, which means I got a gorgeous pair of cuffs (ah, the sweet smell of leather), and he got Guitar Hero II. Then we went out an bought a PS2 as a collective anniversary present. As I speak, we’re feeding the building addiction. Plus, my crush on Gwendolyn from Odin Sphere is pretty much official. So yeah, it’s been a good week in gaming.

Think back. Do you remember a time when Pokemon was cool? Okay, now do you remember a time when Pokemon was uncool? Now here we are, and Pokemon is cool once again.

Okay, maybe not cool per se. All I know is that once Pearl and Diamond hit the shelves, my twenty-two-year-old game-designing fiance started up the old addiction–and I’m sure he’s not alone.

Personally, I’ve never really identified with the whole “collect them all” mentality. I just like Pokemon for their aesthetic quality–and their adorable ability to only say their own names. Plus, I’ve seen many more hours of the
Americanized show than I’d like to admit. Ah, Misty. What a little tease…

Yohoho! No, it’s not Puzzle Pirates. Kotaku reports that big games big shot area/code is working on a version of their game Plundr for the Nintendo DS. Plundr uses WiFi to let players wander a real-life region and find digital hidden treasure.

Though there’s no word about an official DS release, Heroine Sheik readers will surely giggle to know that our own (okay, my own) Scott Jon Siegel had a hand in the original project. Since he’s headed back to area/code this summer, maybe we’ll get more inside info soon…

Alice from Wonderland reports on the just-around-the-corner One Laptop Per Child three-day game jam that’s going to be taking place from June 8-10. The jam, says Serious Games Source, will bring together “hundreds of developers, educators, and artists” to “create open source educational games for the XO laptop,” which One Laptop Per Child is currently being deployed in numerous high-need countries across the world.

Not only is developing for One Laptop Per Child a good deed, it’s also got amazing potential to literally change global gaming. Think about it. Thousands and thousands of children who have never played electronic games before–a whole generation of new, creative designers–will be experiencing these titles. One Laptop Per Child actually had a design contest at GDC this year to inspire ideas, which I thoroughly meant to write an article about. Hopefully even more great concepts will come out of this jam!